Landlords of a Vincent Road property that went up in flames in 2021 have failed in a bid to claim $266,000 from its tenant for damages. County Court of Victoria Judge Andrew Fraatz delivered his findings in July after a three-day hearing in March and dismissed the claim. The court heard a fire which originated in the tenant's bedroom around 1pm on 8 April, 2021 destroyed or otherwise damaged most of the property. Landlords alleged the fire was caused by the tenant’s “failing to extinguish her cigarettes before departing the property and leaving her cigarettes unattended”. The tenant admitted to being a smoker but told the court she didn’t smoke inside the property and therefore couldn’t have started the fire. The court heard police, firefighters or fire investigators did not locate any smoking paraphernalia in the bedroom. Judge Fraatz said the applicant was unable to establish the area or point of origin of the fire within the bedroom and he was not convinced the tenant smoked in her bedroom prior to the fire. “I find any available inference that a cigarette caused the fire is no more probable than the inference an electrical device caused it,” he said. “No investigator found any physical evidence to show the cause of this fire.” Prior to the fire, the tenant said she left the home with one of three daughters she lived with to go to the bakery around 12pm. They were notified of the property being on fire by a neighbour. The court heard the fire destroyed the rear of the property – the bedroom including the windows, a section of hallway, several other windows and a glass sliding door adjacent to the hallway. In addition to fire, thermal and smoke damage throughout, the property sustained some damage from water during fire suppression activities. Following the fire, the landlord partially reinstated the property before on-selling it to his daughter. The court heard the tenant usually smoked at the property in the alcove directly outside the bedroom or on the front porch. Empty pot plants were used as ashtrays and the court heard the tenant kept a jar with a lid on it she used as an ashtray in the bedroom, which the landlord alleged sparked the blaze. Judge Fraatz said the tenant had removed the glass jar from the bedroom as it was never recovered from the area.
